Dumah, Archangel of Silence

Jason · 03-09-2011, 09:19 PM

Does this seem relatively balanced? It has a lot in common with this write-up, though differs from it in some significant ways as well. (I can't recall if I saw that version before I started this months ago -- and lost interest and returned to it tonight while brainstorming for an upcoming game -- but probably.)

Dumah, Archangel of Silence

Once a Seraph of Dreams, Dumah arose to the rank of a minor Archangel following centuries of tirelessly working toward lessening celestials' audible impact upon the Corporeal realm. Dumah's Word does not represent the forcible silencing of laughter and music, but quietude for contemplation, and accepting silence upon oneself so as to hear the even the softest notes in the natural Symphony. When taking humanoid form, Dumah is as strictly androgynous as an Elohite, and prefers to communicate with Servitors through expression alone (or the Ethereal Song of Tongues as necessary). Dumah remains allied only to Blandine, but associates with Novalis (for her promotion of peace) and Jordi (for his attunements that respect the natural sound of the Symphony). Dumah remains cooly neutral to most other Archangels, but harbors a quiet hostility toward Jean and his Servitors for their cavalier attitude toward disturbance.

Dumah is not generous with attunements, even to associates' Servitors. While Laurence and Michael might appreciate being able to outfit Symphonically silenced covert strike teams, Dumah's main goal is to actually reduce celestial intervention, not to make angels better at fighting the War. Servitors of Silence work with the understanding that their great powers of subtlety are to be used appropriately subtly. Though Dumah's angels can perform Songs, push skills, and even take on celestial form without even a small chime of disturbance, the Servitors of Silence know that they are expected to affect the world only in small ways, and to blend with humanity as much as possible, following the example of their cousins serving Dreams. For this reason, Dumah disapproves of Servitors of Silence accepting attunements from Archangels other than Blandine; while some attunements would be very useful to an angel serving Silence (such as Gabriel's Whispers of Inspiration), Dumah is careful about allowing Servitors to feel they owe favors to more disruptive Superiors.

Dissonance
It is dissonant for Servitors of Silence to create any Symphonic disturbance in the corporeal plane. Unsurprisingly, Dumah has few Servitors on Earth, and those who travel between Heaven and Earth often do so through the Marches or being brought directly by Dumah to silence their passage. It's not dissonant for Servitors of Silence to speak, but many (especially Malakim) follow their Archangel's example and take a vow of silence. Dumah's angels are also understandably forbidden from learning, teaching, or performing the Songs of Thunder and Cacophony.

Choir Attunements
Seraphim subtract their total Forces from disturbance caused by performing celestial Songs.
Cherubim subtract their total Forces from disturbance caused by Essence spent to improve Skill rolls.
Ofanim subtract their total Forces from disturbance involved in taking or leaving celestial form.
Elohim subtract their total Forces from disturbances caused by performing ethereal Songs.
Malakim subtract their total Forces from disturbances caused by damaging living beings.
Kyriotates subtract their total Forces from disturbances caused by performing corporeal Songs.
Mercurians subtract their total Forces from disturbances caused by damaging inanimate objects.

Servitor Attunements
The Sound of Silence: If there are no echoes of disturbance audible, the angel can perceive any sound within a diameter of (10 x total Forces) yards and know precisely what made it. If a pin drops on a football field, a 10-Force Servitor of Silence will hear it.

Expressing the Unspoken: As long as the angel utters no sounds for at least an hour beforehand, the angel can express verbally communicable messages up to 6 words long through facial expressions alone. This can't be used to string together many "6 word messages" into a single long message, but can still communicate tone, such as the difference between looking at a car and communicating "You're driving?" versus "You're driving?" versus "You're driving!" Only those specifically checking the angel's facial expressions regularly are likely to notice any messages being communicated.

Distinctions
Vassal of Silence: No disturbance is generated from spending Essence to boost non-Skill rolls.
Friend of the Hushed: May perform any Song sotto voce, without regard for other requirements.
Master of the Tranquil Soul: Celestials generating echoes of disturbance cannot physically approach within a number of yards equal to the angel's total Forces unless permitted by the angel to do so, and beings within this range will be unable to intentionally cause new disturbances at all.

Rites
Bring calmness and quiet to a noisy group of humans through peaceful, non-supernatural means.
Spend 6 hours isolated in silent meditation.

Song Affinity
All angels of Silence have an affinity for the Songs of Silence, granting +1 to their check digit. Dumah also encourages Servitors to learn all Songs sotto voce.

Chance of Invocation: 0 (and one must be at least a Vassal to increase this with Essence)
+1 A book teaching sign language.
+2 Ten conscious people, making no sound.
+3 A soundproof room.
+4 Over one hundred silent people, listening intently.
+5 A moment of perfect silence in the middle of a war.
+6 Summoning from within a soundless vacuum (e.g., outer space).

JCD · 03-10-2011, 06:39 AM

Interesting. He must be under extraordinary pressure to help a Brother out.

Jason · 03-10-2011, 11:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JCD

Interesting. He must be under extraordinary pressure to help a Brother out.

I must admit, I kind of had a hard time balancing what seemed to make sense mechanically, so I kind of relied on back story/personality to explain why Dumah wouldn't just make the entire Heavenly Host perfectly silent. An earlier version reduced the angel's Celestial Forces from disturbances instead of Total Forces, which would be way less powerful and still leave Servitors of Silence at risk for dissonance, but this made performing any Song with a degree of disturbance a losing proposition. (Though now that I think about it, maybe that's only fair; one of the Distinctions could remove the degree of disturbance from one's Songs, and the only "subtract total Forces" thing could be for taking celestial form.)

JCD · 03-10-2011, 01:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jason

I must admit, I kind of had a hard time balancing what seemed to make sense mechanically, so I kind of relied on back story/personality to explain why Dumah wouldn't just make the entire Heavenly Host perfectly silent. An earlier version reduced the angel's Celestial Forces from disturbances instead of Total Forces, which would be way less powerful and still leave Servitors of Silence at risk for dissonance, but this made performing any Song with a degree of disturbance a losing proposition. (Though now that I think about it, maybe that's only fair; one of the Distinctions could remove the degree of disturbance from one's Songs, and the only "subtract total Forces" thing could be for taking celestial form.)

Yes. That is an interesting point. If I made a hypothetical Dumas (darned those Eliite Ofanim) Angel who spent all this points on the other Choir attunements, I might get to the point where I am only vulnerable to Choir Dissonance.

Total forces seems a bit powerful. Consider: A Malakim of Dumah covering ToF in Disturbance could take a crowbar to an ENTIRE CAR with the only sound the tinkle of glass.

Jason · 03-10-2011, 03:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JCD

Yes. That is an interesting point. If I made a hypothetical Dumas (darned those Eliite Ofanim) Angel who spent all this points on the other Choir attunements, I might get to the point where I am only vulnerable to Choir Dissonance.

Total forces seems a bit powerful. Consider: A Malakim of Dumah covering ToF in Disturbance could take a crowbar to an ENTIRE CAR with the only sound the tinkle of glass.

Yes, good call. After all, none of those Choir attunements is listed as restricted. Changing every one but the Ofanite one to "Celestial Forces" basically means that most Servitors of Silence can't safely use Songs with a degree of disturbance equal to a check digit, and no Servitor of Silence can ever safely kill a human being. Seems like a fair trade-off for otherwise powerful attunements.

03-09-2011, 09:19 PM	#1
Jason Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Boston, MA	Dumah, Archangel of Silence Does this seem relatively balanced? It has a lot in common with this write-up, though differs from it in some significant ways as well. (I can't recall if I saw that version before I started this months ago -- and lost interest and returned to it tonight while brainstorming for an upcoming game -- but probably.) Dumah, Archangel of Silence Once a Seraph of Dreams, Dumah arose to the rank of a minor Archangel following centuries of tirelessly working toward lessening celestials' audible impact upon the Corporeal realm. Dumah's Word does not represent the forcible silencing of laughter and music, but quietude for contemplation, and accepting silence upon oneself so as to hear the even the softest notes in the natural Symphony. When taking humanoid form, Dumah is as strictly androgynous as an Elohite, and prefers to communicate with Servitors through expression alone (or the Ethereal Song of Tongues as necessary). Dumah remains allied only to Blandine, but associates with Novalis (for her promotion of peace) and Jordi (for his attunements that respect the natural sound of the Symphony). Dumah remains cooly neutral to most other Archangels, but harbors a quiet hostility toward Jean and his Servitors for their cavalier attitude toward disturbance. Dumah is not generous with attunements, even to associates' Servitors. While Laurence and Michael might appreciate being able to outfit Symphonically silenced covert strike teams, Dumah's main goal is to actually reduce celestial intervention, not to make angels better at fighting the War. Servitors of Silence work with the understanding that their great powers of subtlety are to be used appropriately subtly. Though Dumah's angels can perform Songs, push skills, and even take on celestial form without even a small chime of disturbance, the Servitors of Silence know that they are expected to affect the world only in small ways, and to blend with humanity as much as possible, following the example of their cousins serving Dreams. For this reason, Dumah disapproves of Servitors of Silence accepting attunements from Archangels other than Blandine; while some attunements would be very useful to an angel serving Silence (such as Gabriel's Whispers of Inspiration), Dumah is careful about allowing Servitors to feel they owe favors to more disruptive Superiors. Dissonance It is dissonant for Servitors of Silence to create any Symphonic disturbance in the corporeal plane. Unsurprisingly, Dumah has few Servitors on Earth, and those who travel between Heaven and Earth often do so through the Marches or being brought directly by Dumah to silence their passage. It's not dissonant for Servitors of Silence to speak, but many (especially Malakim) follow their Archangel's example and take a vow of silence. Dumah's angels are also understandably forbidden from learning, teaching, or performing the Songs of Thunder and Cacophony. Choir Attunements Seraphim subtract their total Forces from disturbance caused by performing celestial Songs. Cherubim subtract their total Forces from disturbance caused by Essence spent to improve Skill rolls. Ofanim subtract their total Forces from disturbance involved in taking or leaving celestial form. Elohim subtract their total Forces from disturbances caused by performing ethereal Songs. Malakim subtract their total Forces from disturbances caused by damaging living beings. Kyriotates subtract their total Forces from disturbances caused by performing corporeal Songs. Mercurians subtract their total Forces from disturbances caused by damaging inanimate objects. Servitor Attunements The Sound of Silence: If there are no echoes of disturbance audible, the angel can perceive any sound within a diameter of (10 x total Forces) yards and know precisely what made it. If a pin drops on a football field, a 10-Force Servitor of Silence will hear it. Expressing the Unspoken: As long as the angel utters no sounds for at least an hour beforehand, the angel can express verbally communicable messages up to 6 words long through facial expressions alone. This can't be used to string together many "6 word messages" into a single long message, but can still communicate tone, such as the difference between looking at a car and communicating "You're driving?" versus "You're driving?" versus "You're driving!" Only those specifically checking the angel's facial expressions regularly are likely to notice any messages being communicated. Distinctions Vassal of Silence: No disturbance is generated from spending Essence to boost non-Skill rolls. Friend of the Hushed: May perform any Song sotto voce, without regard for other requirements. Master of the Tranquil Soul: Celestials generating echoes of disturbance cannot physically approach within a number of yards equal to the angel's total Forces unless permitted by the angel to do so, and beings within this range will be unable to intentionally cause new disturbances at all. Rites Bring calmness and quiet to a noisy group of humans through peaceful, non-supernatural means. Spend 6 hours isolated in silent meditation. Song Affinity All angels of Silence have an affinity for the Songs of Silence, granting +1 to their check digit. Dumah also encourages Servitors to learn all Songs sotto voce. Chance of Invocation: 0 (and one must be at least a Vassal to increase this with Essence) +1 A book teaching sign language. +2 Ten conscious people, making no sound. +3 A soundproof room. +4 Over one hundred silent people, listening intently. +5 A moment of perfect silence in the middle of a war. +6 Summoning from within a soundless vacuum (e.g., outer space).

03-10-2011, 06:39 AM	#2
JCD Join Date: May 2008 Location: Birthplace of the Worst Pizza on the Planet	Re: Dumah, Archangel of Silence Interesting. He must be under extraordinary pressure to help a Brother out.